


Sword kittens

by NighttimePhilosopher



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: AAAANGST, All characters are 20+, Angst, F/F, Gen, Implied Sexual Content, Magical Pregnancy, REALLY MINOR, Unhealthy Relationships, adora is a dumbass, alternate title: catra leaves adora a present, dumbface adora, magic destiny kittens, minor injury, or the holy virgin catra, slight mentions of childbirth, the sword did magic things to catra, yeah its that fuckin tag
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-15
Updated: 2019-04-15
Packaged: 2020-01-14 12:12:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,865
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18475978
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NighttimePhilosopher/pseuds/NighttimePhilosopher
Summary: Catra comes to Adora in the middle of the night with a bundle after disappearing for 6 months. (Now adora's got 3 kids and an emotional mortgage because sword magic)





	Sword kittens

**Author's Note:**

> People were talking about sword magic catradora kittens on the catradora discord im in so here’s this. Just when I got out of gem egg hell…
> 
> Inspired by stuff by teaandsmut and this art by statusefx on twitter https://twitter.com/statusefx/status/1111669737820430337
> 
> I forgive you if this makes no sense. Just…sword magic, guys ghjjkkhg

The kittens brushed against her skin as they shivered and squirmed on her chest, mewing blindly for their mother. Adora could only stroke them gently in a daze, not sure what else she could do beyond what she was doing right now. Flickers of pained blue and yellow eyes swam amongst her thoughts, and glancing down at the striped kittens did nothing to help.

“And why does Adora have to sit _topless_ with them again?” Glimmer huffed, covering her eyes with her arm.

“Because the physician said they’re half human. They need the physical contact to establish a bond.” Bow answered, also barring his vision as they stood in the infirmary, surrounding Adora’s bed.

“There’s nothing human about them! They’re fluffy little _animals!_ For all we know, this is just another one of her tricks.”

“Glimmer--” Bow warned.

“It’s not a trick.” Came Adora’s voice. “She wouldn’t-- she wouldn’t do that. They’re not even a day old.”

Glimmer approached Adora, rounding the bedside. She removed her arm, sternly keeping her eyes on Adora’s pained blue, nowhere else. “Look Adora, we want to help you in any way we can, but there can’t be any more…” She hesitated, glancing to the kittens, “ _secrets_ between us.”

Adora followed her gaze, watching the kittens keen in her gentle grasp. “I…I understand. I’m sorry I kept something so big from you guys.” Shame riddled her, trailing right behind the shock of everything that occurred. She looked at Glimmer and Bow, sincerity in her eyes. “Please, I promise, I’ll tell you everything I know.”

* * *

 

They had been meeting for over a year now.

Adora refused to risk the Fright Zone, but Catra was happy to outsmart the guards in Bright Moon every time.

She knew it was wrong. It was so very wrong, and Adora bargained a lot. She’d earned the trust of everyone in Bright Moon by officially shedding the Horde part of her, by kneeling in front of Queen Angella and renouncing her past, and promising her future. But it was never as easy as that.

She hadn’t meant to betray her friends - her family - like that, by letting Catra inside when she started tapping at the window. It was just a selfish wish, seemingly harmless, simultaneously a threat to her adopted cause.

It was just…in the night, breathing didn’t come properly without Catra at the end of the bed. Without her scent in the sheets. Even her furs catching in her pillow. And it had been the same for Catra. It was something Adora realised Bow and Glimmer could never understand, as she lifted the blankets for Catra to enter, as she pulled her in line with her body, so they could both finally rest.

It hadn’t been about love. It had been about seeking familiarity.

It had been about each pocket of air between their suffocating lives at war. It had been a simple want, for a comfort they couldn’t get from anyone else. In the dead of night, or the heat of battle, their fighting came to a peak and their gasps of relief kept them returning to each other. It was just to give them enough energy to keep on living, keep on living a lie. It was just Catra and Adora in the isolation of night, finally exploring what was between them, too little, too late.

Then Catra stopped coming. She disappeared from their routine for weeks, then months. Adora’s nights didn’t return to emptiness. They made her chest well up in anguish, wondering what had happened. Did Catra not want it anymore, the risk, the longing - or was she toying with her? Or worse, had they been found out? Had the Horde done something awful to Catra as punishment? The unknown gripped her tightly, not being able to search, to find out, not being able to properly _grieve_ in the comfort of her friends. She’d let them down, and they couldn’t know how much pain she was hiding under her solid exterior. Each rebellion effort had her scanning over the enemy units, trying to find her among their ranks, trying not to raise Bow and Glimmer’s concern. In the quiet moments between the three, she had to blame it on her destiny, on being She Ra, and they would try their best to console the wrong problem.

* * *

 

“All those times when you looked lost…” Bow whispered, clutching his chest as he absorbed everything Adora had said. He’d moved to sit at Adora’s blanketed waist, while Glimmer continued to stand.

“And all those times you wanted to be alone…” Glimmer said, searching Adora’s expression.

A shrill mew interrupted them, and then a chorus of cries came from Adora’s full arms. Adora’s urge was to make them stop, pressing them closer into her chest, giving them warmth and trying to squeeze out their distress. Her thoughts returned to Catra, who these kittens would never see, and never know now that they were in Bright Moon to stay. She didn’t know if they’d ever be okay without her. It still didn’t connect in her mind, all of it, Catra as a parent, _herself_ as one too, by some unintentional force.

She hadn’t meant for this.

Adora acknowledged the heartache sharply rising again, recounting the events of the last hour to them, now that she had air in her lungs. Bow and Glimmer watched her carefully, as if trying to understand something that she couldn’t even comprehend herself. “Tonight was the first time in 6 months I’ve seen Catra.”

* * *

 

Just when Adora had been getting used to the lack of scratching at her window late at night, Catra scrabbled in, not waiting for Adora to let her.

A thousand emotions flew through Adora at once as she startled from her bed, more overwhelming than turning into She Ra for the first time. All she could do was open her mouth, trying to figure out what to say. Relief warmed her grief-afflicted chest.

“Catra, I thought you were dead.” She had gasped, breath hitching.

“I’m not.” Was all that Catra said, stumbling forward with what Adora realized was a bundle of blankets. It was stained bedding from the cadet bunks, the colour was unmistakable.

However, all her attention was on Catra’s unreadable blue and yellow eyes, glinting through the moonless night. The rest of her form was shadowed by a draping cloak, but Adora could tell she was hunching. She only did that when she was hurt, or unsure. “I was so worried about you.” Adora took a hesitant, disbelieving step forward, as if Catra would disappear if she moved too fast. “What happened?”

Catra came toward her cautiously, quietly, her eyes watching every movement in Adora’s face as she presented the blanket. Adora noticed it squirm without input, a frail mew escaping from the stolen bedding.

Curiosity piqued, Adora reached into the fabric, peeling back a layer to reveal two little striped pelts, warm to the touch. As she pressed her fingers to them, clutching the underside of the bundle, she realised there was a third pale, patternless pelt. Just by their size, and the weight of the blanket, they looked very young. She couldn’t make out their colours in the dark, but she swore that they each had a slight _glow_ to them, emanating from their tiny bodies. “Catra…” Adora whispered, confused but admittedly entranced. “They’re kittens?”

Adora watched Catra observe the animals, and the growing crease on her face. “I don’t know how. I don’t know what happened, or how to explain it,” Catra sounded hoarse, strained. Frustrated. Scared, even. She looked up at Adora and unwaveringly said, “But…they’re yours.”

Adora blinked, backing up, scrutinising Catra like she had grown another head (and rightfully so). “Uh, mine?”

“Yeah.” Adora felt Catra’s grip loosen on the kittens. “Your stupid princess magic is the only thing I can think of that’s capable of something like _this_.”

Adora tried to lean the blankets back into Catra, utterly lost at what she was trying to say. “Catra, I don’t understand what’s going on, where have you been all this time? I’ve been worried sick!”

“Put two and two together Adora.” Catra said, flicking her ears and tail, glaring at Adora. “Look at them, and look at me. Tell me you aren’t _that_ dense.”

Adora’s eyes scanned the kittens, spotting little pointed ears and at least one tail. She felt a whole nauseating wave of emotions at what Catra was insinuating, and it probably showed.

“Dammit.” Catra growled, pushing forward to shove the bundle into her arms. “Just take them, Adora. I don’t know how to explain it to you. I don’t even understand it myself.”

Adora took the kittens at the insistence, unsure how to broach anything. The whole interaction felt estranged. “When did they? You…?”

Catra limped around the room, searching for something particular. She happened upon the Sword of Protection at Adora’s bedside and hissed, kicking the sword and not even jumping when it clattered to the ground. She shoved it around the floor with her feet, digging her claws into the embedded gemstone. Adora just watched, feeling the kittens shift around in the blanket. “Today. This morning.”

“Okay.” Adora nodded. She realized Catra might still be in a lot of pain. “Are you okay?”

Catra stopped, and held out her arms as if she was on show. Her mane was ragged, she looked as if she hadn’t slept in a month, and she carried herself with an exhausted limp. Adora could even make out a bite mark on her forearm, self-inflicted, from the positioning. “Do I look okay?”

Adora didn’t say anything. She only felt her heart ache with pity. Especially if this somehow really was her fault, like Catra was saying…

Catra paced the room, multicoloured eyes barely leaving the sword. “I blamed my absences on heat. A string of heats, in the later months. They believed me, the idiots.” Catra explained. “But I’ve raised eyebrows. I’m lucky they were small.”

Adora agreed with a hum, mind whirling. All she wanted to do was hold Catra tight and cry, and never let her go. A new type of guilt filled her chest, swirling around with everything else. And now Catra was probably going to…

Catra stopped and gave her a strange, angered look. “Don’t cry.”

Tears rolled down her cheeks without her notice or approval, and she was quickly sobbing, trying to keep a straight face. Her emotions betrayed her, glinting, salty droplets falling onto the kittens below.

“Adora,” Catra growled, “don’t cry.”

“Stay here.” Adora blurted, chest tight. “They can help you at the infirmary. They can figure this out. They can look after your kittens.”

“No.” Catra stomped down. “And they’re _yours_ , not mine. I never wanted them.”

“I never made them either.” Adora sniffed, Catra watching her every move. “I never meant to make them, I mean. I didn’t know--I don’t even know when we _did_ \--"

Catra strode forward and got in Adora’s face. “Listen, _I_ should be the one crying. Do you have any idea what I went through? What your damn powers did to my body? I still feel revolting.” She sighed when Adora froze up, turning away from her and making her way to the window. “And now, I’m free. No more risk of Scorpia giving me away. No more avoiding Hordak and the others. No more baggy, inefficient clothing. No more feeling sick, and helpless and _weak_ \--"

She gave a gasp and a jolt. Adora looked down to find she’d drawn blood against She Ra’s prone sword, on the sole of her clawed foot. Growling nearly ferally, Catra picked it up by the hilt and threw it, not bothering to see it clang against a stone pillar and fall to the floor.

“Catra, wait!!” Adora tried to catch Catra as she marched to the window, still somehow faster than her with an exhausted body and now injured foot. Adora felt Catra’s wet trail of blood soak into her bed socks as she stumbled after her, still holding the kitten bundle in one arm. Arm outstretched, she missed Catra’s cloak by centimetres, who climbed onto the windowsill with a grunt.

“Please.” Adora whispered, frozen in place at the sight of her best friend framed in the window. Catra regarded her with a look of contempt, mane catching in the wind, but Adora would always remember the other emotion that briefly flickered past her face. Catra’s pupils flickered downwards, and Adora realized she was looking at the kittens, who were starting to cry out at the lack of her warmth.

“Goodbye, Adora.” And Catra leapt from the window. Adora dashed forward to the windowsill with a gasp, catching the sight of Catra making her way down the side of the castle, albeit slower than usual. She couldn’t remember if she cried after her or not, watching her until she disappeared between the massive trees of the Whispering Woods, into the unforgiving darkness of night.

* * *

 

“You guys know the rest.” Adora said, petting the pale kitten’s downy fur. “I rushed into your rooms, the medics checked these guys over and cleaned them up, and now here I am, holding magic She Ra kittens and waiting for the queen to decide on when she wants to exile me.”

Bow and Glimmer were speechless, rightfully so. She watched them go to say something and fail, over and over again, trying to find the right words to console, but the room stayed silent.

“Adora, she’s not…” Glimmer managed, but fell quiet again, brow creased.

“Now everything is out in the open,” Adora continued. “There’s nothing more for me to say.” She eyed them stoically, not wanting sympathy. She’d done the wrong thing and hurt Catra, and lied to them, so it wasn’t sympathy that she sought, or deserved. “So I’m ready for anything you have to say.” She said, admittedly more than she felt. “Really, anything.”

“Adora…there’s nothing we _can_ say.” Glimmer spoke quietly, pressing her hand into the silky white sheets, closing it into a fist. “There’s nothing easy about this.”

“But you need to know something first.” Bow said, brushing past Glimmer’s side. “You’re not going to go through this alone.” He flashed a glance to Glimmer, who nodded in agreement. “It’s decided for you. We’re going to help in any way we can.”

“I don’t deserve your help though.” Adora pushed back. None of this would’ve needed their help if she hadn’t been keeping a secret in the first place (Catra deserved it 6 months ago, alone and confused in the Horde).

“Maybe so.” Bow clasped his hands around one of hers, his fingers nudging a sleeping kitten. His deep brown eyes were undeniable. “But you _need_ it.”

“Yeah,” Glimmer agreed, putting her hand on Bow’s. “There’s no way we’re leaving you alone with _three magic cats,_ Adora.”

Adora couldn’t deny the small smile on her face. “Thank you,” She hated bringing it up, but the guilt held her hostage. “but aren’t you upset that I kept seeing Catra from you?”

Bow moved a reassuring hand to her shoulder. “No. It’s over now, and we just need to live with it.”

It was times like this when Adora saw the full extent of his emotional maturity. _Their_ emotional maturity. She took in their warm faces, Glimmer and Bow, defiantly loving her when she was making excuses not to. In the Horde, she’d been deprived of such a thing, where issues were solved when one person was lying on the floor with their teeth knocked out. It made her blink back fresh tears. They were her rocks when Catra couldn’t be. Wouldn’t be. She’d work to make sure she never broke their trust again.

Glimmer clambered onto the bed, nestling herself against Adora’s strong shoulder. Bow did the same, on her other side. The three of them basked in each other’s presence and relaxed for the first time that night, contently watching the newborn kittens mew to themselves in the middle. Adora let herself recede into her thoughts, although she didn’t miss Glimmer’s unconvinced ‘not human’ comments, and Bow’s ‘sword magic kittens’ and ‘sliced pie’ theory (“their genetic makeup is like a pie cut into thirds; one bit human, one bit cat, and one bit She Ra!”).

There was finality in Catra’s last words to her, in her eyes as they stared at each other. Adora wouldn’t see her again until they met on the battlefield; it was certain she would no longer return to finding her in her bed. She didn’t know what cruel force out there kept pushing them together and pulling them apart again, but it was undoubtedly the same one that created these kittens within Catra, making them a part of their destinies whether they wanted it or not. Looking down into her brimming arms, it was like being pulled to the sword all over again.

Her hand found a fluffy head, thumb stroking up and down its tiny nose, drawing out a thankful mew. She decided to raise these kittens in a life lived opposite from hers, full of love from the three of them. After all, her kittens deserved it.

**Author's Note:**

> *peels back the catradora paint* hey, this is just gem egg hell! Ghhkjhg
> 
> I’m of the H/C that they’d become more humanoid-looking when they’re older, i.e Catra. I wish I had room to write Catra checking up on them too! That would’ve made me bawl. Also don’t @ me about how Catra got pregnen, or that force bit at the end. they were probably banging and adora just started glowing. Who knows 
> 
> I got more She Ra/Catradora (and glitradora) on the way (that’s like, way more plausible too lol). Who knows when it’ll come out, but I’ve had fun writing them so far


End file.
